Suicide Bombing Kills 6 and Injures 16 in Somalia

Civilians stand near the scene of explosion in Hodan District, Mogadishu Civilians stand near the scene of explosion in Hodan District, Mogadishu Feisal Omar/Reuters

September 10 2018

Islamist militant group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the capital of Somalia that has killed at least six people.

On Monday, September 10 2018, a suicide car bomb detonated in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. The vehicle exploded at the gate of district headquarters in the coastal city, destroying a government office building. Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of the Amin Ambulance service, confirmed that at least six people died and 16 were injured. Half of the casualties were soldiers according to Captain Mohamed Hussein of the police.

Al Shabaab, an Islamist militant group linked to al Qaeda, has taken responsibility for this attack. As reported by Reuters, Al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab stated “We completely destroyed the district headquarter office. There are many casualties.” This recent attack is the second of its kind in the past two weeks. On September 2 2018, a suicide car bomb detonated near the headquarters of the Howlwadaag district in Mogadishu and killed six people, including two children.

Al Shabaab has been carrying out suicide car bombing attacks frequently since being pushed out of the capital in 2011. This group is fighting to unseat the western-backed government in Mogadishu and to institute a new ruling system based on Islamic law. Troops from an African Union force are currently stationed in Somalia to control security in the country. Somali troops are expected to gradually assume command of security from the African Union troops. Initially, reduction of African Union troops was scheduled to begin next month, however, the United Nations Security Council recently voted to postpone this reduction to February.

 

 

To know more, please read:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/somalia-suicide-blast-targets-government-offices-mogadishu-180910075317444.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-security/suicide-car-bomb-kills-at-least-six-in-somali-capital-idUSKCN1LQ0OU

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/suicide-car-bombing-in-somalias-capital-wounds-at-least-4/2018/09/02/f3a87786-ae8b-11e8-8b53-50116768e499_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a607fc565819

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/world/africa/somalia-mogadishu-suicide-bombing.html

 

By Cecilia D'Arville

Editing Shrabya Ghimire

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